Cutter for secondary seal of a stoppered bottle



June 3, 1958 N. KRAVITZ ,2

CUTTER FOR SECONDARY SEAL OF A STOPPERED BOTTLE Filed Feb. 23, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

NORMAN [(194 V/ 72 BY N. KRAVITZ June 3, 1958 CUTTER FOR SECONDARY SEAL OF A STOPPERED BGTTLE Filed Feb. 23, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

NORMAN KRAV/TZ BY ATTO NEY CUTTER FOR SECONDARY SEAL OF A STOPPERED BOTTLE Norman Kravitz, Cincinnati, Ohio Application February 23, 1955, Serial No. 489,990

3 Claims. (Cl. 215-46) This invention relates to a cutter for the secondary seal of a stoppered bottle.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, yet highly efiicient cutter member which is adapted to be associated with a stoppered bottle prior to the application of a secondary seal thereto, said utter being operable by the ultimate consumer to sever the secondary seal, thereby permitting the stopper to be removed. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a cutter for the secondary seal of a stoppered bottle which isfabricated from sheet material and which comprises a continuous annular portion receivable entirely within the confines of a secondary seal associated with the stoppered' bottle, and which includes an integrally formed radially projecting tab which extends through and terminates ex-. ternally of the secondary seal, said tab being rotatable about the bottleneck for severing thesecondary seal.

A furtherobject of the invention is to provide a cutter having the hereinabove described characteristics which is constructed and arranged whereby to be receivable between the continuous, complementary abutting portions of a bottle and its closure means, whether of the cork or screw-cap type, without materially altering the present closure applying means.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cutter for the secondary seal of a stoppered bottle, which cutter includes a radially projecting tab adapted to project through the secondary seal, which seal may be applied to a stoppered bottle provided with the subject cutter means in the same manner as when associated with bottles which are not provided with such cutter means.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and as disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective viewof the upper portion of a bottle the neck of which is provided with a secondary seal and cutting means embodying the teachings of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the cutting means of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view illustrating the various items comprising the closure means of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a secondary seal of the viscose type prior to being applied to a bottle neck.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the manner in which the secondary seal of Fig. 4 is associated with a bottle provided with a cutter of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. l showing'the manner in which my cutter severs the secondary seal.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5, but showing the manner in which a modified form of cutting member embodying the teachings of the present invention may 2,837,233 Patented June 3, 1958 continuous, upper, flat, annular face or-portion 12 which circumscribes opening 14. The numeral 16 denotes a.. typical stopper member which includes a body portion.

18 receivable within opening 14 of the bottle, an enlarged head portion 20, the underside 22 of which is provided with a continuous, flat, annular surface adapted to abuttingly engage upper surface 12 of the bottle.

As best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the numeral 3 denotes generally a cutter member embodying the teachings of the present invention, said cutter being fabricated from sheet material and formed to provide a fiat, continuous, annular ring 32 having a radially projecting tab 34 formed integral therewith. Ring 32 is adapted to be loosely received over body portion 18 of the stopper member between the continuous annular faces 12 and 22 of the bottle and cork.

The numeral 40 denotes generally an elongate striptype federal revenue stamp which extends over and interconnects the head portion 20 of the stopper to portions of the bottle neck.

The numeral 50 denotes generally a so-called secondary or protective seal which may be fabricated from sheets of viscose, gel, or they may be fabricated from paper, metallic foil, or the like. Solely by way of example, I have illustrated the secondary or protective seal as being fabricated from viscose in the'form :of afiattened tube, note Fig. 4, which when moistened expands considerably and becomes quite pliable.

The expanded, pliable tubes of Fig. 4 are placed over the top of a bottle to which a stopper, my cutter and a revenue stamp have already beenaflixed, as in Fig. 5. As the seal dries it will shrink so as to snugly and tightly engage the bottle neck and cork as in Fig. 1.

In Figs. 1, 4 and 5, the numeral 52 denotes an aperture initially provided in the viscose seal, it being noted that tab 34 will initially project through aperture 52 when the seal is applied to the bottle for thereby automatically positioning the seal with reference to the bottle neck.

In Fig. 7 the viscose seal 50 has not been provided with aperture 52, but instead tab 34 has been provided with a pointed outer end 35 which will readily penetrate through the wall of seal 50 so that when the seal dries, as in Fig. 8, the tab 34 will be disposed in the fully projected posi tion there illustrated.

In Fig. 9-the numeral 60 denotes a bottle neck having externally threaded portions 61 formed integrally therewith which are engageable by the complementary threaded portions 62 provided in the depending side walls of a closure cap 64. The cutter member is adapted to be disposed between the continuous annular edges 66 and 68 of the bottle neck and cap, respectively, it being further noted that a suitable secondary seal 50 which engages the cap and bottle neck completely encloses ring 32 of the cutter member with tab portion 34 extending through and projecting outwardly thereof.

As used herein and in the claims, the term secondary or protective seal refers to element 50 of the drawings, whether this seal be fabricated from viscose, or any other materials including paper and various metallic foils. In those instances wherein the secondary or protective seal is fabricated from paper, it may be provided with an inner adhesive surface which engages portions of the stopper and bottle neck. Such secondary seals may be provided with an aperture such as 52, note Figs. 1 and 5, through which tab 34 of the cutting member may project, or the paper. seal may be impaled over the pointed end 35 of the tab as illustrated in Fig. 7.

It should likewise be understood that in those instances wherein the secondary seal comprises sheets of metallic foil, it may be suitably crimped around the neck and stopper for, providing thefull equivalent of the secondary sealing means illustrated in Figs. 1 and/ or 8.

As best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, it will be noted that the cutter member is fabricated from thin sheet stock such as, by way of example, plastic, metal, or the like, where-.

in tab 34 is disposed in the plane of annular portion 32. It has been found that the cutting member may be rotated in either direction, since the side edges of tab 34 provide.

an effective cutting element for the secondary seal, whether it be of viscose, paper, metallic foil, or the like.

From the foregoing, it will be noted that I have thus provided. a simple, inexpensive, yet highly eflicient cutter element for the secondary seal of a. stoppered bottle which is adapted to be associated with the standard closure means, whether of the cork or screw cap type, said cutter member being bodily interposed between adjacent faces of a bottle neck and its stopper.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the structural details of the device, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a bottle, and a closure memher and secondary seal therefor, the neck of the bottle and closure member having horizontally extending annular complementary abutting portions and one of said two last mentioned parts having an outer annular longitudinally extending face portion adjoining its complementary abutting portion, of a cutter for severing said secondary seal, said cutter comprising a continuous relatively thin flat substantially rigid ring part rotatably fitting on said annular face portion between and in substantial contact with but in rotatable relationship with said complementary abutting portions of the bottle neck and closure member entirely within the confines of the secondary seal, said flat ring part being of an interior diameter to be applied to said annular face portion by movement of the ring part longitudinally over one end of the part having said annular face portion, said annular ring part having a tab integral therewith extending radially outwardly therefrom through the side Wall of said secondary seal and terminating exteriorly of the same, the side edges of said tab forming cutting edges, whereby by rotation of said tab and ring part the secondary seal will be severed by said tab.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 and in which the closure member'i's in the form of a stopper having a body portion and an enlarged head portion, and the flat annular ring part of the cutter rotatably fits on the body portion of the stopper between the abutting annular face portions of the head portion of the stopper and the outer end face portion of the bottle neck..

3. The combination defined in claim 1 and in which the bottle neck has a laterally projecting annular portion located thereon inwardly of its outer end, and the closure member is in the form of a cap having at its open end an outwardly directed annular fiange to abut against said laterally projecting annular portion of the bottle neck, and the ring part of the cutter rotatably fits on the bottle neck between the laterally projecting annular portion on the bottle neck and saidlaterally extending annular flange of the bottle cap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,179,880 Dodge Nov. 14, 1939 2,198,117 Kancer Apr. 23, 1940 2,227,880 Dodge Ian. 7, 1941 2,311,719 White Feb. 23, 1943 

